Britain Accuses Ghana Lawmakers of Visa Fraud

Paul Biya, the president of Cameroon, spends weeks at a time in Geneva, and he was holed up in a hotel there for so long last year that critics called him the president of the Hotel Intercontinental. Muhammadu Buhari, the president of Nigeria, traveled to Britain and stayed there for weeks this year to receive medical treatment. His absence from his country was never fully explained.

While campaigning for office, Ghana’s new president, Nana Akufo-Addo, like many candidates in the region, traveled to Europe and America to build up international support for his campaign.

One of the legislators cited in Mr. Benjamin’s complaint, Richard Acheampong, is accused of securing a visa for a woman he said was his wife, saying she was to accompany him for a two-week vacation in Britain. The High Commission said the woman was still in Britain. Mr. Acheampong has not offered information to help authorities track her, according to British officials.

The letter also asserts that another member of Parliament, Joseph Benhazin Dahah, initially applied for visas for a wife and niece, but when the application for his niece was denied, he applied to the Republic of Ireland from another country, changing the name of his wife and claiming the person he originally identified as his niece was his daughter.

A third member of Parliament, Johnson Kwaku Adu, traveled to Britain last July with his wife and 16-year-old daughter for what was supposed to be a two-week vacation. He returned to Ghana after just two days, but his wife and daughter are apparently still in Britain. The High Commission has accused him of facilitating the transport of a minor who cannot be traced.

The former member of Parliament, George Boakye, has been accused of securing a visa for his daughter, who overstayed her visa for more than three years but was forced to return after the British authorities intervened.